"John DeChancie - Skyway 1 - Starrigger" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dechancie John)

тАЬWerenтАЩt you at all... put out when I disappeared on you like that?тАЭ I thought I detected a note of
disappointment, but wasnтАЩt sure. Letting about 1000 meters go by before answering, I said carefully, тАЬI
was, but I got over it. I knew you were a free being.тАЭ I hoped it sounded good.
Another good stretch of Skyway scooted under us and I got this out of her: тАЬI missed you. I really
did. But I had my reasons for just upping and leaving. IтАЩm sorry if it seemed inconsiderate.тАЭ She bit her
lip and looked at me tentatively, trying to gauge my mood. She didnтАЩt get much of a clue, and gave it up.
тАЬIтАЩm sorry,тАЭ she said with a little self-deprecating laughs тАЬI guess тАШinconsiderate* doesnтАЩt quite cover it.
Callous is more! like it.тАЭ
тАЬYou never seemed the callous sort,тАЭ I improvised. тАЬIтАЩm sure your reasons were valid.тАЭ I put it a bit
more archly than I had intended.
тАЬStill, I probably should have written you.тАЭ She turned her head quickly to me and chuckled.
тАЬExcept you have no address.тАЭ ;
тАЬThereтАЩs always the Guild office.тАЭ _ тАЬLast time I saw your desk it was a six-meter-high pile of
unanswered mail with legs.тАЭ тАв тАЬIтАЩve never been a clean-desk man. Congenital aversion to paperwork.тАЭ тАв
тАЬWell, still....тАЭ She seemed at a loss as to how to proceed with the conversation from that point. I didnтАЩt
have the vaguest idea how to help her, so I got up and said I was going to pug on some coffee. She
declined the offer. тАв I went into the aft cabin, got the brewer working, then sat at the tiny breakfast nook
and thought about it for a good while.
тАЬSeems like we done did us a Timer, son,тАЭ Sam whispered in my ear over the hush circuit. тАЬOr I
should say, weтАЩre going to do one.тАЭ | тАЬYeah,тАЭ I mumbled. I was still thinking. A paradox presents you
with few optionsтАФor an infinity of them if you look at it another way. Any way I looked at it, I didnтАЩt
like it. I spent a good while back in the cabin doing that, not liking it. In fact, I didnтАЩt realize how long
until SamтАЩs voice came over the cabin speaker. тАЬTollbooths coming up.тАЭ
I went back to the cab and buckled myself into the driverтАЩs seat. The woman was curled up in one of
the rear seats with her eyes closed, but she opened them as I was strapping in. I told her to do the same.
She came forward to the shotgun seat and obeyed.
 тАЬGot it, Sam,тАЭ I said. тАЬGive me a closing speed.тАЭ тАЬOne-one-two-point-six-niner-three meters per
second.тАЭ тАЬCheck. LetтАЩs get some round numbers on the readout and make it easy.тАЭ тАЬCan do,тАЭ Sam said
cheerily. тАЬComing up on one one five... now! Nope. Little more... steady.
Okay, locked in. One one five, steady!тАЭ
тАЬRight.тАЭ I could see the tollbooths nowтАФтАЬKerr-Tipler objectsтАЭ is what theyтАЩre formally called,
though there are many names for themтАФtitanic dark cylinders thrust up against the sky like an array of
impossibly huge grain silos lying along the road, some almost five kilometers high. тАЬSix kilometers and
closing,тАЭ Sam said. тАЬOn track.тАЭ
тАЬCheck.тАЭ
Signs were coming up. I signaled for English.
APPROACHING EINSTEIN-ROSEN BRIDGE APERTURE
PORTAL #564 INTERSTELLAR ROUTE 80 to EPSILON ERIDANI I DANGER! EXTREME
TIDAL FORCES!
MAP AHEADтАФSTOP IF UNCERTAIN
The mapтАФa big oblong of blue-painted metal sticking out of the sandтАФlooked new and obtrusive, as
did the roadsigns, so obviously not an artifact of the ancient race that built the Skyway. The
Roadbuilders DidnтАЩt believe in signs... or maps. We rolled on toward the aperture. I looked over to
check if our passenger had strapped herself in correctly. She had. A veteran of the road, Sam kept
reading out our speed as I kept the rig trimmed for entry. Another series of signs came up.
WARNINGтАФAPPROACHING COMMIT POINT MAINTAIN CONSTANT SPEED EXTREME
DANGER! DO NOT STOP BEYOND COMMIT POINT тАЬRight in the slot,тАЭ Sam said. тАЬEverythingтАЩs
green for entry.тАЭ
тАЬCheck.тАЭ The flashing red commit markers shot past and we were in the middle of a gravitational
tug-of-war between the spinning cylinders of collapsed matter which created the E-R bridge. They